Antidust ashes-removing apparatus.



No. 686,500. Patentd Nov. |2, |90l.

a. ADAMS & w. E. HOWLAND. ANTIDUST ASHES REMOVING APPARATUS.

Application filed m m, 1901. J

(No Model.)

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No. 686,500. 7 Patented Nov. 12, I90].

6. ADAMS &. W. E. HOWLAND. ANTIDUST ASHES REMOVING APPARATUS.

(Application filed May 24, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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. l I I lfigfilii UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE ADAMS ND WALTER E. HOWLAND, OF PAssAIo, NEW JERsEY.

ANTIDUST ASHES-REMOVING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 686,500, dated November 12, 1901.

Application filed May 24,1901.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that we, GEORGE ADAMS and WALTER E. HOWLAND, citizens of the United States of America, residing at Passaic, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Antidust Ashes-Removing Apparatus, of which'the'following is a specification,referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- A Figure 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in Vertical section, showing our invention applied to a common hot-air heating-furnace; Fig. 2, a plan View of the ash pit and truck therein; Fig. 3, a detail sideview of one of the ways for supporting the sliding bottom of the ash-hopper; Figs, 4 and 5, detail side and bottom elevations, respectively, of the ash-hopper; Fig. 6, a detail plan View of one of the grooved ways; Fig. 7, a detail side elevation ofthe ash hopper with the bottom thereof removed, and Fig. 8 a detail plan of the sliding bottom of the ash-hopper.

This invention has for its object the production of an ashes-removing device which can be applied to all furnaces, steam-heaters, hot-water heaters, steam-boilers, &c., for removing the ashes from time to time as the accumulations may render necessary without the production of annoyingand injurious dust; also, to provide an inexpensive and handy means for storing the ashes for several days at a time in order that the ashes will not have to be removed every day, as is now the case. V

This invention consists, essentially, in mounting the furnace over a pit or trap chamber which extends from a point under the furnace to a point at one side of the same and is closed on all sides, a door or doors being provided at one side of the furnace for access to the pit, a stationary hopper to catch the ashes as they fall from the furnace-grate, this hopper being supported over the inner end of the pit and being provided with a movable. bottom, whereby the ashes may be deposited from time to time into the pit, and a reciprocable receptacle in the pit supported on means for facilitating its reciprocation'from under the furnace-hop- Serial No. 61,782. (No model.)

per to a point coincident with the trap-doors, whereby it may be lifted out from time to time and emptied.

The dimensions of the pit A will be determined by'the size of the heater under which it is located. The length will be approximately about twice the width where it is in a round furnace, as shown, and considerably more where it is used in a square or oblong heater. This pit can be'used to very great advantage, as will appear hereinafter, and it can be made of brick and concrete, as shown, or where the earth is suitable it can be lined by plastering directly on the ground after a hole of proper dimensions is excavated. It can also be very inexpensively lined with iron, in which event everything would be made at the factory, and the time required to erect the furnace where this improvement was used would not be materially greater than it would be without it. In the bottom of this pit we use two iron'rails a, on which will roll a specially-constructed car or truck B, and on this car we place an ordinary ashcan 0, of the proper dimensions for the purpose, and each can (it being our intention to furnishv two with each apparatus) will be provided with a cover. (Not shown.) The said pit is intended to extend far enough in front of the-furnace or heater to permit the can when filled to be lifted out of the pit vertically. The portion of the pit that projects out beyond the heater is covered with proper iron doors D for the purpose of closing same when it is not required to be Open for the removal of the filled cans. In the ceiling of the cellar, directly over the center of the car when it shall have been brought forward for the purpose of removing the filled can, we screw an eyebolt, on which is hung a small drop-and-fall or tackle E for the purpose of easily lifting the full can out of the pit. Before removing the can if care is taken to close the cover thereof tightly it will be seen that the creation of dust will be avoided. As shown in the drawings, slings or hooks b are connected to the tackle-ropes for the purpose of conveniently connecting them to the handles of the sides of said cans.

The car can be made of wood and iron, as shown, or it can be made all of iron, if so wanted. It will be necessary to have the wheels, axles, and flaring cup-shaped ring 0 made of iron in order that the car may be perfectly reliable and durable. The cup-shaped ring 0 on the wooden platform of the car is for the purpose of centering the can on the truck as it is let down thereon. Otherwise there would be too much guesswork about it, and many times the can would not be properly placed under the hopper. The center of the platform of the car is left open, so that any of the ashes that may by inadvertence be deposited outside of the can will not lodge on the platform and cause trouble, but will pass through to the bottom of the pit, where they can be cleaned out at leisure.

It will be seen that when the can is lowered to the car it rests on iron all around. This will protect the wood platform of the car and make the car more durable when it is made partly of wood.

The ash-hopper F herein shown is designed more especially for use in furnaces already made. It will be seen that to apply this improvement to furnaces already made it is simply necessary to cut the proper-sized hole in the bottom of the furnace directly under the grate, insert the hopper, as shown, and then secure the ways d to the lower edge of same below the bottom of the furnace. Of course the furnace will have to be taken down for this purpose; but this will not be a difficult or expensive undertaking for a skilled person. In putting in this hopper it will be necessary to cement it in, as all air must be prevented from getting to the fire up around the hopper. The sliding bottom 6 of the ashhopper is provided with antifriction-rollers f, that run in grooves provided for the purpose in the parallel ways 01, fastened to the hopper. This hopper can be cast all in one piece, as shown, or it can be cast in two pieces and clamped together, if'desired. Where it is cast in two pieces, the joints will have to be ccmented the same as where it fits into the bottom of the furnace. The hopper preferably tapers downwardly and is flanged at 9 where it rests on the furnace-bottom. The ways 01 are each provided with a curved flange h for convenience inbolting or rivetingit to the exterior of the hopper at a point below the furnace-bottom. The sliding bottom 6 fits up closely against the lower edge of the hopper to prevent the upward passage of the air through the hopper to the fire, and thereby prevent the proper regulation of the draft by the usual draft-regulating devices, and it is provided with an operating-rod j, which extends forward to be within easy reach through the pitdoors.

VVhere furnaces are made with the intention of using this improvement, there will be no need of making an ash-pit in the furnace in the manner now common, as the whole of the ash-pit can be made into a hopper to be provided with the sliding bottom underneath.

This will give more room, not only for the hopper, but for the reception of the necessary draft. Where the fire-box is long, it Will be necessary to make the ash-hopper long as well; so we do not confine our claims to particular shape. In some cases it may also be advisable to make the ashcans either oval or square in order that the ashes may more readily be conducted into them.

It is estimated that in an ordinary furnace there can be an ash-hopper put in large enough to hold the ashes that will accumulate during severalsay three-days at a time, and instead of these ashes being a detriment to the action of the furnace they will be an advantage. As has been stated, it is necessary that the ash-hopper be made tight in order that no air may get up around or through the hopper to the fire, for should this happen it would be the same as opening just so much draft, and consequently the fire would be that much harder to check, and especially would this be noticeable in very mild weather, when only a light fire is necessary. Now since the sliding bottom of the ash-hopper can be made to fit as tight or tighter than an ordinary ash-pit door it is obvious that where there is no ash-pit door, as in new furnaces made especially for this improvement, the opportunity of undesirable draft is not as great with our improvement as without it, as with even a very small amount of ashes in the bottom of the ash-hopper it would be impossible for any air to pass up through the same into the fire, the ashes making an effective seal.

We have seen that the ash-hopper will hold the ashes that will accumulate in several days, and as the ash-can will be at least three and one-half times the capacity of the hopper it is evident that the cans will not have to be removed more than once a week in very cold weather or every ten or twelve days in mild weather when used in connection with the common house-furnace. This is an advantage that can be seen at a glance.

We desire the privilege of employing any means whatsoever for removing the filled cans from the pit and replacing the empty cans back on the car again, even to doing it by hand.

It will be observed that the bottom or door e, which shuts off communication between the pit and the stationary or furnace hopper, and the trap door or doors D convert the pit into a sort of dust-trap extending from be neath the furnace to a point at one side thereof and that the removable receptacle in the pit is, in effect, a reciprocating storagehopper adapted to be shifted from beneath the stationary hopper to a point beneath the doors D, so that it may be readily lifted out vertically through the latter door when filled. It will thus be seen that by means of this double-door arrangement and the reciprocating removable hopper or receptacle the ashes furnace at one side thereof, means as doors,

for closing this pit at one side of the furnace, a track on the bottom of the pit extending from under the furnace to a point below said closing means, an ashes receiving and storing hopper supported below the furnace.

grate and above the pit, a movable bottom for said hopper and means for operating it to deposit the ashes, a truck on the track in the pit, and a removable ashes-receptacle on the truck, for the purposes set forth.

2. In combination with a furnace,su'pported over a closed pit extending out to one side of the furnace, doors closing the part of the pit projecting from under the furnace, a track in the pit extending from a point centrally under the furnace to a point under said doors, a truck on said track carrying a removable ash-can open at its top, and means supported by the furnace above said ash-can to receive the ashes from the grate and store them and deliver them into said can from time to time, for the purposes set forth.

3. In combination Withafurnace supported over a pit extending out in one side of the furnace, an ashes-hopper supported in the bottom of the furnace and carrying a pair of parallel grooved ways below the bottom of the furnace, a sliding bottom mounted in said ways and provided with an operatingarm extending outward, and means in the pit for receiving and conveying the ashes from under the furnace.

4:. A truck for-ashes-removing apparatus,

consisting of a platform mounted on wheels and having a central opening and a cupshaped ring around said opening, as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In combination with a furnace mounted over a closed pit or chamber extending from beneath the furnace to a point at one side thereof, means, as trapdoors, closing an opening leading vertically out of the pit at one side of the furnace, an ashes receiving and storing hopper stationarily supported below the furnace-grate and over the inner end of the pit or chamber, a movable bottom or door for said hopper, a movable storage-receptacle in the pit, and means in the pit for facilitating the reciprocation of said recep-.

tacle from a point under the stationary hop- GEORGE ADAMS. WALTER E. HOWLAND.

Witnesses: GEORGE A. BEIRNE, GEORGE DEMAREST. 

